Paseo Ahumada is four-block-long street in downtown

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

. It extends in a north–south direction from Plaza de Armas to the

Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins ( en, General Liberator Bernardo O'Higgins Avenue), popularly known as La Alameda (meaning, a street bordered by poplar trees), is the main avenue of Santiago, Chile. It runs east-west in the center o ...

and is lined by buildings housing retail establishments at their lower levels. At its northern terminus is Plaza de Armas metro station, whereas that at its southern end is Universidad de Chile metro station.

History

In early 1977, the street began to be transformed into a

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

, as a measure to reduce the migration of retailers to the then emerging commercial district of Providencia. The renovation was completed in January 1978. Pop jet fountains were placed at both ends of the street. The project was complemented by the construction of a direct entrance to the Universidad de Chile station, which included the first public

escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizo ...

s in Chile. At present, the street is used by 2.5 million pedestrians each day.

Notable buildings

Casa matriz del Banco de Chile The Casa Matriz del Banco de Chile is a building in downtown Santiago, Chile, which houses the headquarters of the Banco de Chile. It is located at 251 Paseo Ahumada street, between Huérfanos y Agustinas streets. The building was declared as a ...

Edificio Crillón (Santiago de Chile) The Edificio Crillón, also known as Edificio Larraín is a building in Santiago de Chile, located at 1035 Agustinas Street, between Bandera and Ahumada streets. The building, formerly known as Hotel Crillón, was a hotel and is a shopping galler ...

References

{{coord missing, Chile Tourist attractions in Santiago, Chile Streets in Chile